


think that we're meant to be

by independentalto



Series: (all that i can hear is) a simple song [17]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, it's a vegas shotgun wedding!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25433017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/independentalto/pseuds/independentalto
Summary: The thought hits her with all of the speed of a freight train: there was no one else that understood her quite on a level like Kara Danvers could, and quite frankly, there was no one Lena would let understand her on a level Kara did.The only question was, would Kara want to do the same?The path to marriage is odd, they find. But it's not one they would trade for anything else.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: (all that i can hear is) a simple song [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594819
Comments: 16
Kudos: 69





	think that we're meant to be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Woulddieforbrunnhilde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woulddieforbrunnhilde/gifts).



> inspired by the song ["marry me"](https://open.spotify.com/track/0gTfsNLVF8ZU7AsAJnhTmA?si=Cb6xG6K4QPWI4Bkn6UNX9A) by betty who and the prompt "do you have to"?

Lena couldn't remember being happier than she had been in her entire life. 

Granted, there wasn't a lot to compare it to: up until the last...year and a half, maybe? her happiest memories had been few and far between. A few of what little she'd had had even been tinged with despair, Lex's psychotic break and subsequent attempt to destroy all alien life as he knew it a fair damper on a lot of them. Still, the few untainted ones that were left Lena kept closer to her heart than the codes to her personal lab -- the first moment of certain friendship with Sam, the clarifying rush of learning L-Corp had  _ finally _ begun to outweigh the damage LuthorCorp had done, her final commencement ceremony, if she was pressed to think of three. 

Kara Danvers, of course, upended all that. 

Lena hadn't expected to be so thoroughly charmed by the blonde reporter who'd walked into the office the day after the  _ Venture _ explosion, but her somewhat bumbling presence had been refreshing, quite honestly, compared to the normally stiff press she had to work with. It was just as bracing breath of fresh air that the column that'd come out sometime later about her gushed of nothing but positivity, each word thawing the ice block around Lena's heart she hadn't known was there. A first office visit had turned into an office of flowers, which had (naturally, she hoped) turned into coffee dates, lunch dates and one embarrassing dinner date in which neither of them was  _ quite _ sure if they were on an actual date. 

It'd turned into road trips, vacations and long weekends spent in Kara's apartment enjoying the freedom to  _ be _ . It'd been nights learning about Kryptonian biology and constructing tech faster than she'd ever had, it'd been days spent in the DEO med bay in Kara's sweatpants because they'd been the only ones Alex had been able to grab from the apartment. It'd been game nights and pizza nights and endless nights lost in each other, nights where a little thrill would pang through Lena's heart when the last words before Kara succumbed to sleep were a content "G'night, Lee." 

Most recently, it'd been mornings where she'd risen early, her internal alarm clock functional even on her days off, and been treated to the sight of a serene Kara slumbering next to her, an arm thrown over Lena's side in an attempt to keep her close. A light snore would blow a single strand of Kara's golden locks up, let them linger and fall back down, the same process repeating at least five times before Lena would realize she'd gotten lost in watching it.  _ I could do this for the rest of my life _ trailed through the forefronts of her brain, and Lena smiled at the thought before jolting as it set in, regarding the woman that'd just inspired the thought. 

_ Marriage _ . Its true form was somewhat of a foreign concept to Lena, having never really been privy to an actual functioning marriage. She supposed that the ideals remained consistently the same, no matter who you got married to -- it was a commitment through all forms of life and in all forms of love, carried out with someone you were content to spend the rest of your life with. Could she do that with Kara? Remain committed to her for the rest of her naturally living life as her partner? Lena watched another round of Kara's hair rising and falling, wondering idly. Of course she could -- there was no one else that understood her quite on a level like Kara Danvers could, and quite frankly, there was no one Lena would  _ let _ understand her on a level Kara did. 

The only question was, would Kara want to do the same?

"Of  _ course _ she wants to marry you, you dolt," Alex exclaimed exasperatedly later that day at lunch, waving an arm so widely she nearly knocked over their carafe of water. The two of them had lunch at least twice a month -- initially labelled as a 'get-along' session by Kara ("I want the two most important people in my life to get along! Is that too much to ask?"), both Alex and Lena found that they'd come to enjoy the lunches, even once going so far as to turn it into an all-day affair that'd involved cowgirl boots and a hefty amount of tequila. "Honestly, I don't know why she hasn't asked you yet," she muttered, and Lena's eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. "Don't tell her I said that. But regardless, I think she'd be an idiot not to say yes. You're a catch, Luthor. Anyone'd be lucky to have you." 

"I'm guessing I shouldn't be telling Maggie that," Lena chuckled, reaching for the wine bottle. Maybe it was best she keep it on her side of the table for now. "I guess I'd just figure I'd ask you first," she shrugged, and Alex nodded. "You're her sister. There's no one else whose opinion she values most, except for Eliza's." It was also probable that Alex would be the first one in line to hurt her should anything go wrong. Not that Lena would purposely allow that, but still. 

Alex hummed. "She doesn't need my permission -- I can count on one hand the number of times she's ever thought she needed my permission to do anything -- but it means a lot that you asked, Lena." A warm hand settled onto Lena's, and she looked up to see Alex's normally guarded eyes validating her just this once. "And whenever you do ask, I can guarantee you she'll say yes, okay?" A twinkle. "If she doesn't, we're going to have a problem."

* * *

Sam liked to joke that the day of the proposal had been right out of a sitcom. "Lena, it was literally an episode of  _ Modern Family _ ," she told her friend, only to be met with a blank look. "No? I thought Kara was catching you up on pop culture." 

Lena just rolled her eyes at her best friend. "She is. Slowly." 

As it was, she'd already been nervous as all get-out at the beginning of the day, the velvet box burning a hole in her purse as it went on. It seemed to draw Lena's gaze as she gabbed through an office lunch date with Kara, weighed her down on her way out of L-Corp and to Kara's (now theirs) apartment, called a siren's song to her throughout the entire meal she'd assembled for their dinner with Maggie and Sam's help. 

"You okay, Lee?" Kara asked midway through their dinner, startling Lena out of yet  _ another _ reverie about their future. She'd never really considered how she and Kara would grow old -- would they retire from National City? Would they retain their roles? Would they have children? Hell, she and Kara had barely discussed the timeline of a pet, let alone children; they'd both agreed they would adopt given the chance, but.. _ when _ ?

All she knew was that as long as she got to wake up and see Kara Danvers' (Luthor's? That was another thing -- who was going to shed their last name? All things considered, it would probably be her -- the Danvers' had given her far more than she'd ever gleaned from the Luthors throughout her entire life) smiling face next to her, Lena didn't give a damn what they decided to do. "I'm fine," she reassured her, and oh, was the concern on Kara's face adorable. It almost made Lena want to abandon the ruse entirely, but she'd already planned it all out down to the big question written on a sheet cake. 

And had everything gone to plan, Kara would've been blindfolded and Lena would've fetched the cake from the fridge before turning her girlfriend around to reveal her proposal. But fate, as it so commonly did, had other plans in store for them, for as soon as the last fork hit the plate,  _ Kara _ was the one off like a shot, retrieving a small puzzle box she'd been keeping in her bedside drawer and gently setting it onto the table in front of a flabbergasted Lena. "I got you a present" was all she offered by way of explanation, her hands twisting together as she waited for Lena to pick up and begin solving it. The twisting got faster and faster as Lena got closer to opening the box, and by the time she'd popped it open, her nervousness had become so front-and-center Kara'd almost forgotten to drop to one knee when a few thin petals inside the box opened to reveal a modest set of diamonds set into a band of Nth metal. 

"Kara -- this -- this is --" Exactly what she was supposed to be doing, her mind yelled at her, its normally calm self erupting into a cacophony of confusion. "Kara," she tried again, and the shock in her voice seemed to be the only thing leaking through, for Kara went immediately Supergirl damage control. 

"I'm sorry, I know we haven't been talking about getting married for too long, but two months ago I watched you yell at the National City Times crossword puzzle because it had a mistake in it, and then I saw you at Ruby's soccer game when you showed up with Capri Suns and oranges, and then I woke up one morning thinking about maybe us going on vacation but then I looked over at you and you just looked so  _ beautiful _ ," Tears were pricking in the corner of Kara's eyes, even as she rushed to put the dishes away. "and you know how sometimes people say 'when you know, you know'? And I woke up and saw you and I just  _ knew _ because you're beautiful and fearless and rip-roaringly funny but also with the biggest heart of gold I've ever met, even though Alex says that's scientifically not possible  _ I _ believe it's true and I just thought you'd want the same thing but clearly I read this wrong and I'm  _ so _ sorry, Lee, and..." She was cut off by a singular finger to her lips, Lena's eyes wide and soft as her other hand reached to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Lena?" 

"Kara, love." The lump in her throat was ridiculously large -- Kara'd appealed to her puzzle-loving side with a custom-made box, and all she'd gotten was dinner and a sheet cake. A goddamned  _ sheet cake _ . "Please. The fridge." Distressed but now also slightly confused, Kara took a few unsteady steps to the fridge, pulling it open only to gasp at the abundantly-frosted pastry sitting on the shelf. At least it gave Lena time to take the box out of her pocket and hit the ground. "I can't count how many times you've saved my life, Kara Danvers," she began, and damn, when had her speech gotten so cheesy? She'd even gotten Maggie to read it just to make sure she wasn't going overboard. "I've said time and time again that Supergirl can save me a thousand times, but you...Kara Danvers is my hero." 

The tears were prickling at Kara's eyes again, but this time, Lena hoped to Rao that they were happy ones. "Kara Danvers was the one that always told me I was more than my last name. Kara Danvers got me to leave work on late nights, Kara Danvers made sure I was eating three meals a day and held me when things spiralled out of my control." The ring is a brilliantly-cut sapphire, having caught her eye for matching Kara's eyes. "One day, I woke up and thought about us growing old," she confessed, her hands beginning to shake. "and I realized I could see it clear as day, Kara. You and me, me and you. And it was then I realized that you were the only one I wanted to grow old with, the only one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And so, um..." Lena hadn't quite been able to resist the self-jab when writing the speech, but both she and Maggie'd agreed there needed to be at least a little levity in the situation. "They say Luthors are thieves, and normally I would hate the association, but...would you let me be a thief one more time and steal your last name?" 

Through her speech, Lena'd watched Kara's face practically go through the seven stages of grief before finally settling on a fond amusement at her last line. "Lena Kieran Luthor, you are  _ such _ a dork," she finally whispered at the end of the speech. "But you're  _ my _ dork, and you're the only dork I want to marry." She kissed Lena then, one that tasted of exultant tears and joy. "Other than the sheet cake in the fridge." 

Lena chuckled, nestling her head in the crook of Kara's shoulder. "I figured the sheet cake was a viable backup in case you didn't want to marry my withered soul," she joked, warmth settling into her stomach at Kara's indignant 'hey!'. She'd popped the question, finally -- granted, it'd been at the same time as Kara had, but she'd still done it. "I love you, Kara Danvers," she murmured, relaxing into the moment. "I can't wait to marry you." 

"I can't wait to marry  _ you _ ." There were a few more seconds of post-proposal bliss before Kara murmured, "Wait. Do you think this means Alex, Maggie and Sam knew we were going to propose to each other on the same night?" 

Lena was going to kill them. "Almost certainly."

* * *

They'd never really planned for the ceremony itself to be something lavish -- one, it was, for all intents and purposes, high-profile Lena Luthor's wedding to a practical nobody, and two, despite J'onn's insistence that he was perfectly capable of covering Kara for just  _ one _ day, Kara had insisted on remaining on duty. "I don't need a giant celebration to prove my love to Lena," Kara'd insisted one night when J'onn brought up the question. "Lena's been through grandiose celebrations her entire life. She deserves something she can keep to herself." 

"Besides," she said, setting a decanter of whiskey down by Lena's side, "if you were on duty, who would walk me down whatever aisle we eventually pick?" Any talk after that had had to be suspended, as J'onn's eyes had welled up in honor. 

And yet, keen as they were on getting married, the issue continued to be pushed. They loved each other, and they knew they would for the rest of their lives. Marriage was simply a legal certificate that would bind that promise. No need for a fancy party that probably cost more than Kara's entire salary. Hell, they could've probably gotten married in Vegas and Lena would've been happy. 

"You should do it," Alex suggested over drinks one night when Lena'd offhandedly brought up the topic. "You, me, Maggie, Sam, 'n Ruby can drive out for Vegas in the morning, Clark 'n M'gann can fill in for Kara 'n J'onn for the day, and you 'n Kara can get married at one of those chapels people always get drunkenly married at. We can even get wasted beforehand, if you want to authenticate the experience." It was certainly a decent proposal -- it would be something to remember, at the very least, and was quick enough but still a step up from simply appearing at the National City courthouse. 

"I think we'll save the drinking for  _ after _ , thank you very much," Lena laughed, but the air was heavy with suggestion. It was so easily feasible...if they left now, they could easily sleep off the hangovers and get an early start tomorrow, and with Vegas only a short flight away, Kara and J'onn only had to take a short chunk of time out of their day to travel. If they brought the suits for Kara and J'onn with them when they left, both of them could simply change before the ceremony..."Let's do it," she said, and around her, the table nodded, Kara especially vigorously. "I'd never thought I'd say this, but let's get married in Vegas." 

"Wait, Lee," Kara looked as if she'd suddenly been struck by a thought. "Can we get married in one of those Elvis impersonator chapels?"

Lena hesitated. Did she want word getting out that she'd gotten married in an  _ Elvis chapel _ , of all places in Vegas? It was bad enough she'd just agreed to what was a shotgun wedding; if Lillian didn't fill her inbox with angry voicemails first, Eliza sure would. "...do you have to?" she finally asked, because if at the end of the day sober Kara was just as excited to be married in an Elvis chapel as drunk Kara was, she figured she could withstand a few years of plaintive voicemails for the rest of her life with Kara. 

Thankfully, Kara seemed to reconsider. "...ask me in the morning, will ya?"

* * *

The next morning, unfortunately, arrived with the rude honk of Sam's minivan likely waking up the entire block as it permeated Lena's bedroom window, startling both human and Kryptonian into consciousness. Lena groaned as a few of her neighbors hurled some choice obscenities in response, pulling the bedsheets over her head. "Come on, Lee, you gotta get up," came Kara's whisper, accompanied with a just-as-soft kiss to the head. "It's wedding day. You're goin' to Vegas." 

"Don't wanna." For a morning person, it truly was astounding how cranky Lena got when woken against her will. "Too early." 

"Gotta get up, Lee," There was a soft rush before Kara was back by her side. "I started the coffee maker, now up." 

"But then I gotta leave you." Future Lena would most certainly be embarrassed by the attachment she was showing, but for now, current Lena was slightly hungover, sleep-deprived and very much in need of cuddles. "'n I don' wanna leave you for Maggie 'n Alex 'n Sam 'n Ruby." 

"Think about it this way," Kara hummed and pulled Lena close so she could cradle her. "The sooner you get up, the sooner you can start making it through the day. And by the end of the day, we're gonna be married. But you can't get to that point unless you go through all the other steps of the day first." She dropped a soft kiss to Lena's head, smiling at the hum it produced. "Plus, I think our neighbors are going to revolt if Sam keeps honking." 

At the very least, Lena had to admit that was true. "I hate that you're right." Still grumbling, she stumbled out of the bed and robotically made her way through her routine, looking only slightly more presentable than she had some fifteen minutes ago before grabbing the bag she'd packed the night before. "I love you," she murmured, mind still somewhat sleepy, and met Kara's lips in another soft kiss before trudging into the fog that was a National City morning. 

To her relief, the drive was fairly uneventful -- Alex and Maggie were practically passed out against each other in the backseat while Ruby snored away in the front; Sam's only companion was the largest espresso cup known to man, which made her aggressive honking understandable. "I think your neighbors hate me now," was all she offered to the drowsy brunette, who simply nodded and practically collapsed into a seat and fell back asleep. 

The next time she woke, the lights of Las Vegas pierced through her blurry vision, accompanied by the low, dulcet tones of Alex and Maggie. Ruby still hadn't awoken by the time Sam pulled into the hotel parking lot, so the four of them took turns hauling the small teenager up the stairs until they reached their room. 

The idea that she was going to be marrying Kara at the end of the day -- marriage! Kara! -- still hadn't quite set in yet, not even as Alex handed her a pair of cufflinks. "Something borrowed," was all she said, and Lena nodded stiffly. It was necessary: if she even thought about smiling, let alone said something, she was pretty sure both of them would end up crying their makeup off. And after all of the work Sam had done, neither of them wanted to risk it. 

Next was Maggie, who handed her a small pin displaying a pride flag. "This is your happy ending, Lena," she told her, squeezing Lena's hands briefly. "When I got this pin, it marked the beginning of a life where I could be comfortable being myself. Now I want it to mark the beginning of the rest of yours." A stray tear escaped Lena's eye at that one, and in an instant, Sam was on her feet, snatching a tissue and wiping it off of her friend's face. 

"What did I say about tears?" she practically barked to Maggie, and for a second, there was dead silence in the room before Alex began to laugh. The absurdity of the situation finally setting in, both Lena and Maggie also dissolved into hysterics; before long, all five of them were laughing so hard their makeup was beyond repair. "This is yours," Sam said once the laughter had died down, pressing a small box into Lena's hands. She opened the box to reveal a new pair of earrings in the shape of dumplings, and Lena barely had to process their shape before she was putting them in, color scheme be damned.

"I love them," she told Sam sincerely, and the other woman pulled her into a tight hug. "You've done so much for me, Sam. I could never thank you enough." 

"You've been there," Sam shrugged, though her smile was serene. "That's a lot more than a lot of people have done for me." Ruby's 'something blue' turned out to be a slap bracelet that she'd liberated from her collection ("Mom didn't give me a lot of time, in my defense!"), which Lena slapped onto her wrist immediately.

"Alright, Luthor," Maggie declared and reached to adjust the pin on Lena's lapel one last time. "Let's go make you a Danvers."

* * *

The fear that Kara and J'onn wouldn't be able to show up had been quite real -- crime stopped for no one, not even ridiculously extravagant last-minute wedding decisions -- but all was assuaged when Alex stuck her head into the chapel where Lena stood at the altar, shooting her a thumbs up. It was the gaudiest chapel they'd been able to find without sliding into the territory of an Elvis chapel: Maggie had cackled at the continual velvet decor and candles for a full minute upon seeing the location. 

Despite it, however, a chapel was a chapel: an ordained minister stood just to Lena's right and above her, and a blast of pop synth filled the room as the doors opened to reveal Kara and J'onn, the former seemingly in the middle of pleading with the latter to do...what, Lena couldn't quite possibly imagine. After a few bars, J'onn seemed to agree with Kara's plea (despite heavily facepalming before it), and what exactly Kara'd been making a case for became clear: a dance-off down the aisle. 

Alex wasn't sure whether to stop filming or zoom in. Maggie had to struggle to contain her laughter after just having gotten her previous fit under control. Ruby just shrugged and went all in, causing Kara to point at her in recognition as the younger girl broke it down on the dance floor. 

It was three full minutes before Kara finished her routine with a final spin and finger guns at Lena, who by this point had wished they'd just gone to the Elvis chapel. (Then again, no guarantee going to the Elvis chapel would've negated the goofy dance down the aisle. Truly, she was marrying a dork.) "We gather here today to celebrate the union of Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers," the minister began, looking amused. "I've been informed that these two have been through fair equivalents of hell to get here --" Sam flinched, moving to cover Ruby's ears out of habit. "--so I won't be taking any objections. Miss Luthor, Miss Danvers, your vows?" 

"I don't know, I'm half considering walking out of here after that aisle dance," Lena joked, prompting the legendary Danvers pout while J'onn simply snickered in the background. "But that's what I signed up for when we met, wasn't it? I signed up for goofy dances no matter what the occasion and outrageously high bills from Noonan's consisting solely of sticky buns. I signed up for the days where Snapper finally snaps and not everybody can be put in their place, but I also signed up for the days where justice gets served and your exposes make the front page. I love it all, and I love  _ you _ , Kara Danvers. And I'm so happy I get to be your wife," she finished, her smile mirroring the megawatt one that had erupted on Kara's face. "even though it also means I get Alex as a sister." 

"Hey!" Alex called. "Rude!" 

"Miss Danvers?" the minister asked. 

"Yeah, so I'm sorry about the Alex part, if I knew how to disown her, I would've done it a long time ago," Kara chuckled, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Maggie pat Alex on the head consolingly. "But like her, I don't know where I would be today without you, Lee. You always say that I'm the one that saves you, and while that might be true, I don't think I tell you enough about how you save me. I can't tell you how many times I've been at a loss without you," she said, voice dropping. "I don't always know the right answer, and the number of times I've pretended to is ridiculously high. But when I needed it, you were always there. You never judged, never asked questions. Just. Always there. And that's something I promise for you, Lena Luthor. I promise to catch you when you fall and pick you back up when you do. I promise to never walk away and always stay by your side. I promise to be the person that makes you laugh and the person that keeps you from crying, even when we're both sitting through  _ Marley and Me _ ." There was an audible snort from the background. "Life's a hell of a lot brighter when you're around, and I promise to do whatever I can to keep it that way." 

"You promise?" Lena sniffled, Kara's vows having put hers to shame. It wasn't fair, sometimes, being married to a journalist. It really wasn't. 

"I promise," Kara repeated, and nodded to the minister. Ruby stepped up to them then with their wedding bands, exchanging a complicated handshake with Kara before darting back to Sam's side. 

"Do you, Kara Danvers, take Lena Luthor to be your lawfully wedded wife?" he asked. 

"I do," Kara interred solemnly, making sure to look Lena right in the eye as she slid her wedding band on. 

"Do you, Lena Luthor, take Kara Danvers to be your lawfully wedded wife?" 

"I do," Lena whispered. It took all of her energy to focus getting the ring onto Kara's finger, her hands were shaking so much. "I do much." 

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I pronounce you wife and wife," the minister began, his voice trailing off as Kara seized Lena into a joyful kiss. "...you may now kiss the bride," he finished weakly, grinning sheepishly at Sam, Maggie, Ruby, Alex and J'onn, who'd taken it upon themselves to raise the largest ruckus possible. 

"One of us is still going to have to tell Eliza," Lena muttered when they pulled apart, and was silenced by another victory kiss, Kara lacing her hands around her waist.

"That's a later issue," she whispered, grinning against Lena's lips. "You're my wife now, Lee. Let me soak it in for a bit." 

(Eliza, understandably, was upset when Kara called her later that night grinning from ear to ear, but once she saw the glow radiating from both of their faces, it was hard to begrudge them their shotgun ceremony. She'd forgive them for it....for now.)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, everyone! it's my first time here in this fandom, so I would totally appreciate any feedback you have!


End file.
